


Operation : Get  your best friends together.

by Of_stars_and_moon



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Getting Together, Jily fanfic, M/M, MWPP, Marauders, Marauders' Era, Wolfstar fanfic, jily, marauders fanfic, wolfstar
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-29
Updated: 2018-10-13
Packaged: 2019-07-19 00:09:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 14,316
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16129532
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Of_stars_and_moon/pseuds/Of_stars_and_moon
Summary: James realizes that Sirius likes Remus as more than just a friend. But he is not expressing his feelings. So James decides to do something about it, with some help....





	1. Chapter 1

"Where is Remus?" Sirius asked, looking at the doors as they sat in the Great Hall at breakfast.

"Dunno...It's Sunday so I think he'll still be sleeping" James replied.

"Okay" Sirius nodded and turned back to his plate. He absent-mindedly played with his food. 

"He's here" Peter exclaimed.

Sirius turned towards the door and Remus was walking from there. He sat down next to Sirius.

"Hey guys." His voice was hoarse.

"Are you okay?" Sirius asked in a worried voice. 

Remus smiled tiredly,"Yeah...Just cough and cold." He sniffled.

"Did you take some medicine?" James asked.

Remus nodded and started eating his breakfast. Sirius also turned to his plate and started eating.

After sometime James got up,"I've got to go to Quidditch practise...Remus? Do you think you need to go to the hospital wing?" 

"No. It's not necessary" Remus replied.

"Alright..Peter, you coming with me?" James asked Peter.

"Yeah, alright.." He also got up,"See you, guys" he said to them and they left the Great Hall.

Sirius turned to Remus, who sneezed."Bless you," Sirius said.

"You know I am gonna sneeze like 100 times today?" Remus asked.

Sirius nodded,"Yeah"

"So you're gonna say 'Bless You' 100 times?" 

Sirius nodded again,"And you're gonna be blessed 100 times! Isn't that great?!"

Remus chuckled and shook his head,"You're crazy." He gave Sirius a fond look which made his heart do a back flip. How could he make him feel so much by just looking at him? 

Sirius had feelings towards Remus since fifth year. He had realized that after 'His prank on Snape' when he had told Snape about whomping willow. Remus had stopped talking to him and Sirius had felt truly lost. That's when he had realized that how important Remus was to him and he liked him more than just a friend.  
Then Remus had forgiven him. Even after everything he had done, Remus had forgiven him and that's when Sirius realized that this way the boy he loved.  
He had tried to suppress these feelings but they had only grew stronger over the year. 

Remus sneezed again. "Bless you," Sirius said and smirked. 

Remus rolled his eyes, smiling and turned back to his plate. Sirius also continued eating. 

They hadn't even eaten half of the food when Remus pushed his plate away.  
Sirius turned to him, Remus had shut his eyes tightly.

"Remus, what happened?" Sirius asked in an urgent voice.

"The noise...It's giving me a headache." Remus replied.

"Let's go to the hospital wing then," Sirius suggested.

"No, let's just go to the dorm," Remus said. 

Sirius sighed,"Alright, let's go."

They got up and started walking towards the Gryffindor tower.

\---

They went inside the dorm. Remus sat on his bed, leaning his head against the headboard. He shivered slightly.

"Are you feeling cold?" Sirius asked.

Remus nodded. Sirius searched through Remus' trunk and pulled out a sweater. He went and sat on Remus' bed,"Here, It will help." He said and helped Remus in wearing the sweater. "Do you think you have a fever too?"

Remus shook his head. Sirius put his hand on Remus' forehead,"You're freezing!" he exclaimed. He brought the blankets from all other beds and put them over Remus,"These will keep you warm," he stated. Remus smiled tiredly at him. "Are there any medicines here?" Sirius asked.

Remus nodded,"In the drawer," he said pointing to his bedside table. 

Sirius opened the drawer and took out some medicines.

"This one," Remus said, taking a medicine from Sirius. Sirius gave him water and Remus took the medicine. He gave the glass and medicine back to Sirius who kept it on the table. Remus shivered again.

Sirius placed his hand on Remus' cheek,"You're still cold," he stated.

Remus leaned into the touch,"You're so warm."

"Yeah?" Sirius asked. Remus was always the warmest of the group.

Remus nodded. Sirius moved to sit besides him and wrapped his arm around Remus' shoulder. "Better?" he asked.

Remus opened his mouth to say something but he sneezed. Sirius laughed softly,"Bless you."

Remus sighed and leaned his head on Sirius' shoulder,"How are you so warm?" 

Sirius chuckled,"I am not that warm, you're just really cold."

"Ohh," Remus coughed weakly.

"Do you need water?" Sirius asked in concern

Remus shook his head,"No, it's fine."

The door opened and James and Peter walked in.

"Any improvement?" James asked as they sat at the end of the bed.

"Not much," Sirius replied.

"Are you cold?" Peter asked.

"Yeah, freezing," Remus murmered.

"Maybe some soup will help," Peter suggested.

"Yeah, soup will be good for him," James added.

"I'll go down to the kitchens and bring some soup then," Peter said and got up.

"Thanks Pete," Remus smiled weakly. 

"No problem," Peter said and left the room.

James turned to Remus,"You should get some sleep till he comes back, it will help. I'll take a shower."

Remus nodded and rubbed his eyes. James went in the washroom. Sirius turned to Remus, only to find him asleep against his shoulder. He smiled to himself,"Remus? Wake up."

Remus opened his eyes partially,"Hmm??"

"You should lay down. You can't sleep like this." Sirius said softly.

Remus nodded. Sirius helped him lay down and pulled the blankets over him.

Remus looked up at him,"You will stay?" he asked in a pleading voice.

"Of course," Sirius smiled and laid down, facing Remus.

Remus smiled back sleepily,"Thank you for today, Padfoot," he mumbled.

"No problem, Moony," Sirius replied. 

Remus closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep. Sirius was glad that noone else was in here. He took in Remus' every small detail; the curls of his hair, the freckles across his nose and cheeks, his slightly parted lips which were chapped, his long eyelashes, the scar on his cheek. How could someone be so perfect? Sirius knew that he had fallen too deep and it would just destroy him, but he still had no control over it.

\---

James put on his clothes and went out of the shower. He opened the door slowly in case Remus was sleeping. Turned out, Remus was asleep but James stopped at the door when he noticed Sirius's expressions. He was looking at Remus like he was the most wonderful thing in the world. He hadn't even notice James standing here!!  
James had always thought that Sirius liked Remus but now it was crystal clear, he was in love with Remus!! It all made sense now- Why Sirius was always really close to Remus, why he'd always be really over-protective of him, why he would always miss him a lot.

James realized that he shouldn't be standing here like this. He closed the door and entered the room,"So he fell asleep?" he asked in a casual voice.

"...um..Yeah...Yeah he did," Sirius replied.

James sat on the end of the bed,"Do you think he should go to the hospital wing?"

Sirius turned on his back,and kept his hand under his head,"I dunno. I asked him but he didn't agree."

Peter came in with the bowl of soup on a tray,"Hey, I am back- Oh he is asleep," he said and put the bowl of soup on the table.

Remus shivered and Sirius pulled him closer, rubbing his arm gently. Remus put his hand on Sirius' chest. 

Peter also sat on the bed,"So what do we do till he wakes up?"

"I have a brilliant plan for a prank, gentlemen," James said. 

Sirius grinned,"Well let's hear it."

\----

The first thing Remus felt after waking up was Sirius' warmth and heard Sirius' voice, taking about some prank.  
His eyes were still closed, he didn't want to ruin this perfect moment. He felt so content here in Sirius' arms. He knew Sirius would never return his feelings, that he'd never love him back. That's why he'd always relish these small moments, when Sirius would lean his head on his shoulder, or put his head on his lap while Remus stroked his hair. He could live for these small moments.

Unfortunately, this moment got ruined as Remus started to cough. Sirius helped him to sit and offered him a glass of water. Remus drank some water and gave it back to Sirius.

"Are you feeling better?" Sirius asked.

"Dunno, a bit I guess" Remus replied and rubbed his eyes,"How long was I asleep?" he asked.

"Almost an hour," Sirius replied.

Remus turned to him,"You stayed here for an hour?" he asked.

"Yeah..um..we were taking about a great prank," Sirius said

"Yeah. Absolutely brilliant prank! We'll tell you about it later. First you should drink the soup," James suggested.

"Alright," Remus agreed.

Sirius took the tray and performed a heating charm on the soup. He offered it to Remus,"Here," he said

Remus took the tray and placed it on his lap. He took a spoonful of soup and was about to drink it when Sirius stopped him,"Hey stop!"

"What happened?" Remus asked, confused.

"It's very hot! You can't just drink it like this!" Sirius exclaimed. He took the spoon from Remus and blew on it gently. Then, he gave the spoon back to Remus,"Now you can drink it," he said.

Remus took the spoon and smiled,"Thanks."

Sirius waved his hand dismissively,"Don't mention it." He slung his arm around Remus' shoulders,"You get well soon, we've a prank to execute," he said, grinning. Remus smiled back. 

Meanwhile, James was about to explode at how perfect they both were together!!! Couldn't they just snog already!? 

"Hey James! Tell Remus about your great plan, yeah?" Sirius voice ended James' train of thoughts.

He nodded and started taking about the prank...

\---

"  
"But you have to admit, pink hair really suits Bellatrix!" Sirius chuckled.

They all laughed,"I'll never forget her terrified expressions!" James said.

They were in the common room. Remus was sitting on a sofa, reading a book and Sirius was sitting besides him, talking to James and Peter, who were sitting on the floor.

"Hey, Remus," They all looked up, it was a girl with wavy brown hair, James couldn't recall her name, but she was a sixth year like them.

"Oh! Hey, Rachel?" Remus smiled at her.

"..um..I was wondering if you had finished the Charms homework. I needed a bit help in that, if you don't mind," she said shyly.

"Yeah I've finished it and I can help," Remus replied.

"Great!" she exclaimed,"So are you free right now?" 

Remus nodded,"Yeah," He closed his book,"You wanna study here or in the library?"

"Library sounds good," she said cheerfully.

Remus got up,"I'll see you guys later," he said to the others.

"See you, mate," James replied.

Remus and Rachel left the common room and James turned to Sirius. He was looking at the door with a longing look.

James looked down and frowned, Why couldn't they just get together?! Well if Sirius wasn't going to do anything about his feelings, he would do it himself. But first he had to know about Remus' feelings. What if he liked Rachel!? She obviously seemed interested in him. What if he liked her back?! No- That couldn't happen.  
He had to know about Remus' feelings. But how? Remus was really good at hiding emotions. And he couldn't just ask him like,"Hey Remus? Do you have a crush on either Rachel or Sirius?" He ran a hand through his hair.  
Who else could know about Remus' feelings?  
Evans!!  
He got up. Sirius and Peter looked at him.

"I••I have an important thing••um••I'll be back," he muttered and ran out of the common room.  
He stopped outside the portrait hole. But Evans hated him, well hate was a strong word, strongly disliked him. It was still worth a try.

\---

Lily was walking with Mary towards the grounds when someone called her,"Evans!"

She turned back and that someone was James Potter. She crossed her arms over her chest,"What?"

He stopped near her,"..um..I need to talk...to you," 

"I don't want to," she replied and started to walk away.

"It's about Remus," James said.

She stopped and turned towards him,"What about him?" she implored.

James looked around at the students walking around them,"Can we talk somewhere else?" he asked.

Lily turned to Mary,"I'll see you later, okay?" 

Mary nodded,"Alright. I am going back to the common room," she said and walked away. 

They both went into an empty classroom,"Well? What is it?" Lily asked.

James ran a hand through his hair,"••um••Does Remus like Rachel?"

Lily frowned, slightly confused,"No! Maybe Rachel is interested, but I don't think that Remus is," 

"Okay!..um..Does he like anyone else?" he asked.

Of course she knew the answer to that. Remus had told her about his feelings for Sirius in the beginning of their fifth year. She had promised not to tell anyone.

"Why are you asking that?" she asked suspiciously.

"••um••No special reason••Just••" James struggled to say something.

"You're hiding something, Potter," she accused.

James shook his head quickly,"No-Nothing at all!"

"What is it?" she asked and narrowed her eyes at him.

James sighed,"You promise you won't tell anyone?" 

Lily stared at him, she had never seen him so serious about anything,"Okay, I promise," she said.

"•••I••••um••I think••No I know that..Sirius loves Remus," 

"What!!?" Lily exclaimed in a high pitched, excited voice,"He does!?"

James looked at her in confusion,"•••Yeah•••Why are you so...excited?"

Lily seemed to compose herself,"I••I am not excited..I am••"

"You know something, don't you, Evans?" James asked.

Lily shook her head,"••I can't tell you..It's his secret," she said.

"Please! I need to get them together! And I have to know Remus' feelings for that!" he pleaded.

Lily stared at him. He had never said 'please' to her like this!  
Now matter how much she disliked him, she appreciated how much he cared for his friends. She had known about Remus' lycanthropy since third year. She would notice as how every day after the full moon they would cover up for him, how for once they would be interested in lessons to take notes for him.  
James always seemed like the big brother, always being protective of them.

After Sirius was disowned, he had really changed, James had become even more protective of him, he wouldn't let anyone speak anything bad about him, he would always be distracting him. Though the ways of distraction often landed him in detention. From sometime, Lily had noticed that he was changing.  
She wasn't sure if she disliked him anymore.

"Please?...You know how he is with secrets, he'll never tell me," James said.

Lily bit his bottom lip,"You won't tell anyone?" she asked.

"Not a soul, I promise!" 

"Okay...Remus also does love Sirius," 

"Yes!!! That's perfect!!" James said excitedly,"Now my plan can work!!"

"Plan? What plan?" Lily asked.

"The plan to get them together!" James said, he looked down and frowned,"But I don't have a plan yet," he muttered.

"You don't have a plan yet?" Lily said, smiling,"••um don't you think you shouldn't interfere between them?" she asked.

James thought for sometime and then shrugged,"If I don't do anything, they will be pinning for each other for the rest of their lives," he said.

Lily nodded,"Hate to agree with you, but you're right."

James looked at her, she had agreed with him on something!! And they were having a conversation!! And she hadn't told him to sod off even once!! 

"So you have a plan?" she asked. 

He blinked,"•••um••Yeah•••I'll have one•••" He thought for sometime.

"How can I get them together?" he thought out loud.

"You're not going to succeed like that," she said.

"But what do I do?" he muttered,"I am not good with matchmaking,"

"You know I may have some ideas," Lily offered.

"You mean...You will help me?" James asked in disbelief.

Lily nodded,"It's for Remus and Sirius..So yeah," she said.

James couldn't believe his ears. Lily Evans would help him!

"But I've to go to Mary, right now," she said,"Meet me here after breakfast tomorrow. We'll come up with a plan, okay?" 

James nodded, still not believing it.

Lily walked out of the classroom, leaving James to his thoughts. Lily Evans had talked to him nicely! She was going to help him! They were going to work together!  
He couldn't wait for tomorrow!

\---


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Getting Remus and Sirius together is not as easy as James and Lily thought it would be...

"Alright, so we have to make Sirius jealous?" James confirmed, as he sat on one of the desks.

"Yeah, we've to make Sirius jealous," Lily repeated.

"So, how are we gonna do that?" James asked.

"Simple. Someone has to flirt with Remus," Lily stated.

"Are you gonna do that?" James asked, a hint of jealously in his voice.

"No! I am his friend! We've to find someone else. You know, someone who will flirt with him properly. I will••I will not be able to do that," Lily explained.

"Okay! I've got one! You know Letty from Ravenclaw. She is friends with Remus."

"I don't know her intimately," Lily said,"But it's worth a try."

"So how are we gonna get her to flirt with Remus?" James asked.

"Do you think we can convince her to help us?" Lily asked.

"I think she will. It's worth a try,"

"Alright," 

\---

"There she is," Lily said pointing to Letty sitting on a desk in the library.

"Alright, I'll go and talk to her," James stated.

Lily nodded,"Okay, I'll stay hidden behind the shelves,"

James nodded and walked towards Letty. "Hey! Letty" he said casually.

"Hi! James, How are you?" she asked.

"Good! What about you?" 

"I am good," she replied and stood up,"So you're looking for someone?" she asked.

"No- I wanted to talk to you," James said.

"Oh! So... What do you want to talk about?" she said moving closer to James.

Lily frowned. What the hell was going on?! Why was she flirting!?

"Nothing important...Just.. You sometimes study with Remus, right?" James asked.

She nodded,"You don't think there is something going on between us, do you?" she asked.

James shook his head,"No! I would have noticed if there was," he stated.

"Ooh! Noticing me, have you?" she asked moving even more closer to him and twirling a free strand of hair around her finger.

Lily had no idea why but she couldn't stand there anymore. She stormed off the library. She walked through the corridor when James called her from behind.

"Evans! Wait!" 

James ran after her. She kept walking. He reached her and gripped her wrist. She turned around.

"Let me go," she said angrily.

James let go of her wrist,"What's wrong? Why did you leave?"

"What wrong with you? You were supposed to convince her to flirt with Remus, not you!" she demanded.

"Well I was trying to convince her! I didn't know she would start flirting with me!" James explained.

Lily took a deep breath,"I think it was stupid to think that we would be able to get them together. It won't work," she admitted.

James looked taken aback. Lily turned back and walked away. James leaned against the wall and closed his eyes. He shouldn't feel so bad. He should have known he would screw it up. 

\---

Lily went inside her dorm and sat on the bed. 

Why was she so angry? Why should it matter to her if someone flirted with Potter? It's not like she cared. Potter was an annoying idiot, an annoying idiot who really cared about his friends, who always came up with the most stupid puns, who had the most messy hair in the world, but still looked charming••

What the hell?! Why was she thinking that?! Could she fancy Potter? She shook her head, no that couldn't be possible! But what if she did? She groaned and fell back on the bed! 

\---

James was in foul mood the whole day. The other three noticed it and asked him about it but he always brushed it off. 

Right now, he and Peter were sitting in the common room, which was mostly empty, except for them and Lily, who was doing some work. Sirius stormed in the common room, looking very angry.

"Hey! You alright, Padfoot?" Peter asked.

"Yeah.. Just.. I got stupid detention," he said.

James knew he was lying, but before he could say something, Sirius had walked up the stairs.

He frowned, wondering what was wrong.

After sometime, Remus also entered the common room. He looked around, eyes searching.

"Did Sirius come here?" he asked.

"Yeah, he went upstairs," Peter replied.

"Remus? What's wrong?" James asked in a worried voice.

"I overheard some Slytherins talking. They seemed to run into him. I wanted to make sure he's alright," Remus explained.

"He seemed very angry," Lily spoke up.

Remus nodded,"I'll go and check on him," he said and walked up the stairs. 

\---

He opened the door and went inside the dorm. Sirius was laying on the bed, his arm over his eyes. He moved his arms and looked at Remus.

"Hey, Moony," he said.

"Hey," Remus replied and sat next to him. 

Sirius also sat up.

"So, Bad day?" Remus asked.

Sirius nodded slowly,"I met my dear cousin Bellatrix and her friends," he said, voice full of sarcasm,"And she started talking about how I am a disgrace to them, and I didn't care so I was about to walk away but then she started talking about Regulus," his voice lowered,"that I..I ran away without thinking about him, and that he...hates me," he looked down,"Maybe I shouldn't have run away," he said in a low voice.

"Are you crazy?" Remus asked in disbelief. He covered Sirius' hand with his,"You know your parents are mad! If you would have stayed there any longer, they would••," he paused,"What I am saying is none of it is true, Bellatrix is saying this to provoke you, don't let her get the satisfaction."

Sirius nodded,"I was about to hex them, but a prefect came and I couldn't."

"You know, on my way back from the library, I saw them, Bellatrix and Mulciber were talking about you,"

"What were they saying?" Sirius asked angrily.

"I didn't hear completely," Remus answered.

"Why?" Sirius asked.

"I hexed them," Remus smiled.

Sirius let out a surprised laugh,"You did!?"

Remus nodded.

"You're my hero!" Sirius exclaimed and hugged Remus. Remus smiled and hugged him back, glad that he was able to lift Sirius' mood.

"Remus?" Sirius asked, voice muffled by Remus' shoulder.

"Yeah?"

"Thank you," Sirius said and pulled away to look at Remus.

"Don't mention it," Remus smiled. There face were merely inches apart. He would only have to lean a bit to close the gap. He pulled back quickly,'What the hell was he thinking?'. He cleared his throat,"It's getting late. We should go to sleep," he said, hoping his voice sounded casual.

Sirius nodded,"Yeah, it's the final Quidditch match tomorrow. I better sleep," he said.

Remus went to his own bed,"Good night, Padfoot." 

"Good night, Moony."

\---

\--In the meantime--

As soon as Remus had left the common room, Peter spoke,"They won't ever work out their feelings for each other, right?"

James and Lily looked at him,"You know about their feelings?" Lily asked.

Peter nodded,"Yeah, I guessed,"

Lily turned to James,"They are a lost cause without our help," she stated.

"So? You think we••"

Lily nodded,"We need to come up with another plan,"

"Another plan?" Peter asked, confused,"Why do I feel like I am missing something?"

James turned to him,"It's not important, we need to get them together."

"Any ideas?" Lily asked.

"It's the final Quidditch match against Ravenclaw tomorrow!" James exclaimed.

"How's that gonna help our plan?" Lily asked.

"Well if we win we'll have a big party and of course we'll have firewhiskey!" James stated.

"And we can play something like truth or dare or spin the bottle!" Peter suggested.

"Excellent! This plan has got to work!" James said.

"How are you gonna get firewhiskey?" Lily asked suspiciously.

"Leave that to me," Peter said.

"Great!" James exclaimed.

"I will pretend that my 'prefect eyes' didn't see all this," Lily said.

"Don't you mean your 'perfect eyes'?" James smirked.

Lily blushed slightly and bit her bottom lip to stop herself from smiling. What was wrong with her? She was supposed to get angry.

"Well...We'll see if the plan works tomorrow," she said,"Good night,"

"Good night, Evans," James waved his hand. 

She walked towards her dorm. 

Peter turned to James,"Did it really happen?" he asked in disbelief.

"What?" James asked.

"Did Lily Evans really blush at your flirting?"

"I told you she would fall for my charms one day," he grinned, ignoring the butterflies in his stomach. She had blushed at his flirting!!

After sometime, they both also went upstairs. Remus and Sirius were already asleep. He turned to Peter and whispered,"Don't let them know about the plan,"

Peter nodded and went to his bed.

James changed into his pajamas and also went to his bed. He laid down and closed his eyes, with a stupid grin on his face.

\---

The match was about to start, James was about to go to change into his Quidditch uniform as he saw Lily walking towards him.

"Hey, Evans," he said.

She stood near him and gripped the end of his tie to pull him closer to her eye level.

"Listen, Potter, Our whole plan depends on the match, so you go out there and you win this thing," she said.

"Is that your way of saying 'best of luck'?" James smirked.

"Maybe," she smiled slightly and left.

\----

"JAMES POTTER HAS SEEN THE SNITCH" the commentator announced. The crowd waited anxiously, everyone's eyes fixed on the pitch, as James dived after the snitch.

"AND HE HAS CAUGHT THE SNITCH! GRYFFINDOR WINS!"  
The crowd erupted into loud cheers as the players came to the centre of the pitch.

\----

Remus walked through the crowd to Lily, she was looking at the girls who were congratulating James on the victory and praising him. Remus stood next to her.

"Hey, Remus!" she smiled slightly at him.

"Hey," he smiled back and took a sip of the firewhiskey,"I know how you feel," he said, nodding towards the girls surrounding James.

She shook her head,"••I••I don't know•••what you mean," 

"Lily," he said softly,"There's no point in denying, It doesn't help." He glanced towards Sirius, who was chatting with some girl.

Lily sighed,"I am kinda confused...and a little scared,"

"Scared? Why?" Remus asked.

"I just•••Potter is a nice guy, like he really cares about other, but what if things don't work out between us, and one of us ends up hurt?"

He put his hand on her shoulder,"If there is one thing I can guarantee you about James, it's that he'll never do anything to hurt you. I've seen how much he cares about you," Remus said.

Lily smiled at him,"Thanks,"

"No problem, I think I should leave you two alone for sometime, See you around," He smirked and walked away, leaving a confused Lily.

"Hey," she turned to see James standing near her.

"Oh! Hey, Potter," 

"We are still not on first name basis?" he asked, raising one eyebrow.

"Okay," she said slowly,"Nice game, James."  
??  
"Thanks a lot, Lily," he smirked,"So, think our plan will work?"

"Well, I guess we'll find out," Lily replied.

James nodded. The song changed.

"This is one of my favourite songs!" Lily exclaimed.

James held out a hand to her, running his other hand through his hair nervously.

Lily looked at his hand, thoughtfully and held it. He guided her towards the centre, where other people were dancing. James placed his hand on her waist, Lily's hand rested on his shoulder, and their free hands met. Together, they danced to the music.

\---

Remus looked through the crowd and his eyes met Sirius'. He waved at Remus, who smiled back. Sirius excused himself from the girl and walked to Remus.

"Hey, Moony! Enjoying the party?" he asked, taking a sip of his firewhiskey.

Remus shrugged,"It's alright."

Sirius looked around and let out a surprised laugh,"Am I too drunk, or is it really happening?" 

Remus looked at the crowd and spotted James and Lily dancing! He turned back to Sirius, who was looking at them in surprise,"I think it's really happening," he inspected the bottle in his hand,"Or maybe we are both hallucinating,"

Sirius laughed softly. He looked around at all the couples dancing together, maybe he should give it a try.

He turned back to Remus, who was looking at James and Lily. Sirius took a deep breath.

"Hey, Remus!" 

Sirius cursed inwardly, as he turned to see Rachel standing in front of them. 

"Hey, Rachel!" Remus greeted her.

"..um..Do you wanna dance?" she asked shyly.

Remus looked uncertain,"••Dance?••um••I don't know if•••"

"Just one dance?" she pleaded.

Remus turned to Sirius. Sirius managed a fake smile,"So..See you around."

Remus nodded and walked with Rachel to the centre. He put his hands on her waist and she wrapped her arms around his neck. 

Sirius held the bottle tightly. Rachel shouldn't be so close to Remus.

\---

As the song continued, Lily felt relaxed. James twirled her around twice, she stumbled slightly. James held her by the waist to stop her from falling and she placed her hands on his chest. They stared into each other's eyes, everything else forgotten, James' eyes flickered down her face before meeting her eyes again. 

The song changed, which brought them back to reality. They pulled back, Lily looked around and spotted Remus and Rachel.

"What?" she exclaimed in disbelief.

"What happened?" James asked, he followed her gaze to Remus and Rachel,"Oh shit!" he muttered. He looked towards Sirius, who had his eyes fixed on Remus and Rachel, with expressions of sadness and anger.

"Do you think the plan will still work?" he asked, looking back at Remus and Rachel.

"I don't know," she admitted.

Just when they thought things couldn't have messed up even more, Rachel leaned forward and placed a quick kiss on Remus' lips. Lily gasped in shock, even Remus looked taken aback. James looked around and caught a glimpse of Sirius walking up the stairs. James sighed defeatedly,"Well, it's not gonna work now."

Lily nodded,"Maybe you should go and talk to Sirius," she suggested,"But pretend that you didn't already know about his feelings,"

"Alright," he said and walked up the stairs.

He entered the dorm and found Sirius sitting on the bed. James sat beside him. 

He was about to ask something but Sirius spoke first,"Why did you leave the party?" he asked.

"I could ask you the same question," James replied.

Sirius nodded,"The party was a bit boring, so I decided to leave. Though you seemed to enjoy it," he teased.

James shrugged,"My head is aching a bit, so I came up here," he rubbed his temple to make the lie seem more convincing.

"You should take some medicine then," Sirius offered.

James shook his head,"Nah, It will be fine."

"Okay."

They fell into silence for sometime. 

"Do you think Remus likes Rachel?" Sirius asked, breaking the silence.

"No! I think he sees her just as a friend," James replied,"He looked really shocked when she••when she kissed him."

"He did?!" he asked, with a hint of hope in his voice.

James nodded,"I am telling you, he sees her just as a friend."

"Okay," Sirius mumbled. He took a deep breath,"••James, I wanted to•••There's something I want to tell you."

"You know you can tell me anything, right."

"Yeah•••it's that I••," he ran his hand through his hair,"I am in love with Remus," he said shortly.

This is tough, James thought. How could he pretend that he didn't already know about it. "Ooh!" he said trying to sound surprised,"That's why you ran up here when Rachel kissed him?"

Sirius nodded.

"Since when?" James asked.

"••um••Fifth year," Sirius admitted.

"That's long!" James exclaimed, now really surprised,"How come you never told him anything about your feelings?"

"Because I don't wanna ruin our friendship. I just•••I don't want him to hate me or feel disgusted towards me," he said, voice breaking.

"Are you crazy?! You know he'll never hate you, Sirius," James stated.

Sirius was about to say something but the door opened and Remus came in.

"Hey, Moony," James smiled.

"Hey, What are you two doing here?" he asked.

"We were talking about today's Quidditch match," James answered.

Remus looked unconvinced but he nodded,"Alright."

"Are you okay? You don't look so fine," Sirius stated.

Remus shrugged,"I am fine••just••••It's full moon in some days so••a bit tired," he sighed and sat down on his bed.

"So..Remus has got a girlfriend, huh?" Sirius teased.

James looked at Sirius, who had a smirk on his lips, wondering how he managed to mask his emotions so perfectly.

"She's not my girlfriend!" Remus protested.

"But she sure seems interested in you, "

Remus nodded,"She said that she does like me but it's okay if I don't like her back, and I said that we could still stay friends,"

"Do you think you will still be friends?" Sirius asked cautiously.

"I don't really know," Remus admitted.

James rubbed his eyes and got up,"It's getting late, I am going to sleep, good night, guys," 

"Good night, Prongs. Good night, Moony," Sirius said before shutting his curtains.

James and Remus also went to sleep.

\----

Lily walked into the library and sat down on one of the desks. 

There was sound of loud footsteps, and James and Peter appeared from behind some shelves.

"Ooh! Hey, Lily!" James said cheerfully.

"We were just coming to find you!" Peter said.

"Why? Is there something important?" she asked.

James put a big book on the table,"We have another plan!" he announced,"And it won't fail this time."

"What is it?" Lily asked.

James opened the book and pointed at a spell written in it,"This spell, it forms like a rope between two people, almost half metre long. If we do some slight changes to it, then it won't wear off until they confess their feelings," he explained.

"Really?! That's brilliant•••But I've never seen this book here before," she said, confused.

"We got it from the Restricted••" James paused.

"You got it from the Restricted Section!? How did you even went inside? That's out of bounds for students!"

"Shh! Someone will hear you!" James whispered.

"James? Maybe we should tell her? You will have to use it later too," Peter told James.

"Use 'what' later?" Lily asked, confused.

"Okay, but we can't tell you here," James picked up the book and guided them to a secluded corner of the library.

"Alright," he said slowly and opened his bag.

Lily watched anxiously as he took out a cloak. As he put it on, his body disappeared, while his head seemed to be floating in the air.

She gasped,"You have an invisbility cloak!!" 

He removed the cloak and put it back in his bag,"Yeah! I do!" he answered.

"That's how you went into the Restricted Section!" Lily stated.

James and Peter nodded.

"That's how you do so many pranks!" she said.

They both looked guilty and nodded.

"How did you even get one? They are so rare!"

"It's my dad's," James explained.

"Maybe we should concentrate on the plan now?" Peter suggested.

Lily nodded,"Alright."

\----

James and Lily stood under the invisibility cloak in one of the corridors.

"Are you sure the spell will work?" Lily asked.

"Yeah, trust me, It will," James whispered.

"Where are they?" Lily wondered.

"Don't worry, Peter will get them here," James assured her.

"Okay••There they are." 

"Keep your voice low," James said as Peter came along with Remus and Sirius.

"Peter, I don't think there is any secret passage that we haven't found already," Sirius stated as they walked passed them.

"No, I am sure I saw one," Peter replied,"Just around the corner."

James and Lily followed them.

"James, I think it's the right moment," Lily said when they were few feets away.

James nodded and took out his wand.

"Stay quiet, okay? I need some time to concentrate," James said.

"Alright,"Lily said as James closed his eyes.

"Wait••I think there is someone behind us," Remus said urgently and turned around.

In panic, Lily forgot about the cloak. She pulled James towards a narrow corridor. They stumbled and fell down.

"I am sure there is no one, Remus, Come on, Let's go," Peter said. 

The fading sound of footsteps assured that they were gone. James tried to get up but suddenly he was pulled back down,"What the••" 

"Oh shit," Lily muttered.

James followed her gaze to the thin silver rope around their arms. 

"Oh shit," he muttered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the cliffhanger...


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In the previous chapter.
> 
> The fading sound of footsteps assured that they were gone. James tried to get up but suddenly he was pulled back down,"What the••"
> 
> "Oh shit," Lily muttered.
> 
> James followed her gaze to the thin silver rope around their arms.
> 
> "Oh shit," he muttered.

They both got up. Lily worried her bottom lip, so this meant she would have to tell James about her feelings. But, she didn't even fully understand them herself. She had thought that after the plan would work, she would talk to Remus about it, but it wasn't possible now. 

"Oh Fuck!" James said in a panicked voice. 

"James! There's no need to panic like that!"

"There's no need to panic?!" James asked. "We don't even know if there's a counterspell. It won't ever wear off on it's own! How long do you think you are stuck with me?" 

"You have a problem with getting stuck with me?" Lily asked.

"No! Of course I don't! But you don't even like me! And you got stuck with me! And we don't even know for how long!"

Lily looked back down at the silver rope. This didn't sound so bad, she mused, getting stuck with James Potter.

Peter came in the corridor, "What happened? Why didn't you guys•••" He looked at the silver rope then back at them. He opened his mouth but closed it again.

"What happened?" he asked finally.

"It's my fault," Lily admitted, "I forgot about the cloak, so I pulled James towards the corridor, but we stumbled and his wand fell down and...this happened," she explained.

"Is there a counterspell?" Peter asked.

"We don't know," James answered.

"Let's go and check in the library," Lily said. 

James nodded and started walking suddenly, which made Lily stumble.

"Careful, James," she said, "You are stuck with another person now."

"Shit, I am sorry," James apologized.

They started walking towards the library.

\----

"Alright, Peter. Give it a try," James said.

"There's a 60% chance that this will not work," Lily said, annoyed.

"Well, there's a 30% chance that it will work," James replied, "It's a repelling spell, so it may work."

"Alright, let's give it a try," Lily agreed.

Peter pointed his wand at the silver rope and muttered the spell. They both were pushed away from each other, but then pulled back with double force. They collided with each other.

"Ouch," Lily rubbed her arm.

"So, it didn't work," James admitted.

"Why isn't even one of our ideas working?!" Lily complained in a frustrated voice.

"How about using a cutting spell for the rope?" Peter suggested.

They both shook their heads.

"No! No! Let's not try it!" Lily said.

"I like all my body parts very much," James said.

"Now what?" Peter asked.

"I don't know," James said in a tired voice.

"We don't have any classes for the rest of the day," Lily pointed out, "So it's not a big deal."

"Isn't this a problem to you? That you're stuck with me of all people?" James asked.

"No, of course it's not a problem," Lily shrugged, not knowing the effect it had on James, whose face broke into a big smile.

"Let's go to the common room then," Peter said.

"But what will we tell others?" James asked.

"We'll have to come up with some lie," Lily said.

"I'll tell them that I was looking for a binding spell for my book and I accidentally messed it up and you two were there, so the spell hit you two," Peter said.

"That's brilliant, Pete!" James praised him, "You come up with the best lies!" 

"Yeah! That's really good!" Lily said.

"So, let's go now," Peter said and they left the library.

\----

"This doesn't seem like a simple binding spell," Remus said, inspecting the rope.

"And my hand can pass through it," Sirius said, waving his hand through the rope.

James nodded, now regretting all the extra changes he had made to the spell.

"Are you sure you don't remember the spell you used?" Remus asked Peter.

Peter shook his head, "There were a lot of binding spells in the book and I messed up the spell I used, so I am not sure."

"When do you think it will wear off?" Remus asked them.

"About 2 or 3 days, I guess," Lily replied.

James turned towards her, and she gave him a look that clearly said 'Shut up and do as I say'. 

"2 or 3 days? You are lucky. Aren't you, Prongs," Sirius teased.

James glared at him but it turned into a thoughtful look as he looked down at the rope from his right arm to Lily's left one. Of course he was lucky. He was stuck with the girl he loved! But he didn't want Lily to get annoyed or frustrated by him. 

"I have some homework to do," Lily said, "And since my right hand is free, I would really appreciate it if you came back to the earth, because I can't move when you are standing like a statue, James."

James blinked and nodded, "I was on earth and I was not standing like a statue," he defended. "Let's sit then."

They sat on the sofa, Remus and Sirius opposite to them and Peter sat on an armchair. Lily took out her books and starting doing her homework.

"So, Remus, how are things with Rachel now?" Sirius asked.

Remus shrugged, "Alright, I guess. She is really shy now, I mean she was a bit shy before too. But now she is even more shy." 

"Okay," Sirius said slowly.

As Remus looked at James and Lily, a question popped into his mind. He turned to Sirius and whispered, "What do you think they will do about sleeping?" 

Sirius grinned mischievously, "Hey guys••"

Remus covered his lips with his hand. "Not now! Let's wait for it," he whispered.

Sirius nodded and looked down at Remus' hand, which was still on his lips. Remus, suddenly conscious of this, pulled his hand away and rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

"What are you two whispering about?" James asked.

"Nothing!" Sirius said quickly.

Remus got up, "I also have••um••homework to do, I am going to the library," he said and left the common room.

"I am going down to the kitchens," Sirius announced after sometime. "Wanna come, Pete?"

"Alright, let's go," Peter said and they left the common room.

James and Lily were the only ones in the common room now. Since Lily was working, James decided to stay silent. 

Staying silent wasn't as easy as James thought. Just after some minutes, he let out a frustrated sigh. Lily turned to him.

"What?" she asked.

"I am bored!" James whined, "How long will it take you finish?" 

"A while," Lily replied. "Do something to keep yourself busy till then."

James took out his wand and conjured some paper birds. They flew across the common room. He conjured some flowers in the air that descended down slowly.

Lily looked around at the flowers and birds. James felt mesmerized by the fascinated look on her face.

"These are so beautiful," she said in awe and turned towards him, smiling softly.

James stared into her green eyes. They were so captivating. 

The perfect moment was ruined as Marlene and Dorcas came into common room. They stopped as they spotted James and Lily.

"What are you two doing here?" Marlene asked.

"I am doing homework," Lily replied.

"What about you James?" Dorcas inquired.

"Just giving her company," James answered.

They both looked really confused so James held up his hand, "Also we are stuck, so..."

"You are stuck?!" Marlene exclaimed.

James and Lily nodded.

"How?" Dorcas asked. 

"Peter messed up a binding spell," James replied.

Marlene and Dorcas started laughing.

"Yeah. Very funny," James said in a sarcastic voice.

"What are you gonna do about it?" Dorcas asked, trying to sound serious.

"It will probably wear off in a few days," Lily replied.

"Okay!" Dorcas said.

Peter came in the common room, holding some chocolate bars. 

"Where is Sirius?" James asked him.

"He went to the library to give Remus some chocolate," Peter replied, handing everyone a bar of chocolate.

"Alright," James said. 

Peter, Marlene and Dorcas sat down and they soon fell into a conversation.

 

\----

 

The rest of the day passed with many explanations to others and a lot of stumbling.

As they were walking towards the Great Hall for dinner, they came across Professor McGonagall.

"Do you five care to explain what is this?" she asked, looking at the silver rope, suspiciously.

"•••um•••Peter messed up a binding spell and we got stuck together, Professor," James replied.

"Is that true, Miss Evans?" McGonagall asked.

Lily nodded. "Yes, professor."

McGonagall turned to Sirius. "Why do I have a feeling that it's another one of your pranks?" 

He put his hand on his chest. "I am hurt by the little trust you have in me, Minnie." 

"It isn't Sirius' prank, professor. I wasn't feeling good and he was with me in the dorm," Remus said innocently.

"Very well, then. How are you feeling now?"

"I am better, thanks Professor," he said as McGonagall walked away.

When they were at a distance, Sirius turned to Remus. "Lying to Professor isn't a good thing, Mr Prefect."

"I only did it so that she wouldn't think it was you," Remus replied.

"Aww! You care so much about me?" Sirius said sweetly. 

Remus rolled his eyes. "Well, someone has to, since you are so careless."

Sirius chuckled and sling his arm around Remus' shoulder.

James and Lily exchange exasperated looks.

\----

After dinner, they all were sitting in the common room. 

"I think I will go to sleep, now," Remus announced.

Shit. Lily hadn't even thought about it. She looked at the rope. James was also looking at it, probably thinking the same. 

"Fucking shit!" James swore.

"Now what?" she asked him, ignoring the snickers from Remus and Sirius.

James let out a sigh. "I don't know." He looked at the others, "Will you two idiots stop laughing and help us?"

"Well, maybe you should see if it will wear off by a kiss," Sirius suggested, smirking.

Remus and Peter started laughing.

"Son of a bitch," James muttered, then turned to Remus, "Remus, you always help us in tricky situations. Do something, please?" 

"I would have been able to help if I would know the spell Peter used," he replied, trying to stop smiling. "I am sorry, mate."

"Maybe it will wear off tomorrow," Sirius said. "Then you two have to share a bed just for tonight."

"No! The bed is too small and so is this stupid rope," James said firmly. He looked around thoughtfully. "I may have an idea," he stated. He got up, pulling Lily with him.

"What is it?" Lily asked.

James took out his wand and brought two couches side to side keeping half metre distance between them. "This way we can sleep separately."

"That is a really good idea," Remus said.

"Well, problem solved." Peter stated.

"So, see you two tomorrow." Sirius sling an arm around Remus' shoulder as they walked towards the stairs. 

"Good night," Remus said over his shoulder.

Peter waved at James and Lily and followed them up the stairs.

As he left, Lily turned to James, "That was a brilliant idea."

James smiled, "My brain always comes up with brilliant ideas."

"And trying to get your best friends together with a binding spell is definitely not one of them," Lily smirked.

James chuckled. "Yeah, definitely not."

They fell silent for sometime.

"James?" Lily asked, breaking the silence.

"Yeah?"

"Why did you do this?" 

James looked confused, "What?"

"I mean••We could have slept upstairs but you came up with this idea for my comfort and you have been acting really careful the whole day. It's just••you have never been this careful and quiet."

"I thought that you may get annoyed or uncomfortable and I didn't want that. Whenever I say something around you, you seem annoyed, so I decided to stay quite. And I thought that sharing a bed will make you uncomfortable, so•••" he drifted off.

Lily stared at him. "Why? I mean•••Why do you care so much about my comfort?" she asked slowly.

"Because I care about you," he said in a matter-of-fact voice.

"Like you care about your friends?" 

"Yeah, like that, I guess," James replied.

"But you don't care if you annoy them," she pointed out.

"Yeah, because they are like my brothers and we annoy each other most of the time. But with you it's different. I don't want to be the cause of discomfort for you. I want to make you smile and laugh and just-" he licked his lips "-happy. And it's frustrating that most of the time I just annoy you, because I don't want to•••I just am annoying, I guess. And it sucks that the person you love so much will never love you back-" he closed his mouth shut, realising what he said. 

There was no denying it now. Lily knew for sure. She was in love with James Potter. 

She put her hand on his chest. "You know, it sounds kinda unbelievable, but I think I love you, too."

He stared at her in disbelief. Only when the silver rope disappeared, did he believe it. He let out a breath that he didn't realize he had been holding. 

"I•••I feel like I am in a dream," he said.

Lily smiled softly. "Well, maybe we are dreaming together, who knows?"

"Dreaming together? That sounds really poetic and lovely," James stated.

"Hmm. Well I am very poetic and lovely."

"That, you are," James said leaning closer. He wrapped his arm around Lily's waist and closed the gap between them, kissing her. She smiled against his lips and kissed him back. After they pulled back, Lily looked down at her arm.

"Well, now we are not stuck anymore," she said, a hint of disappointment in her voice.

"Well, you sound disappointed, Miss Evans," he smirked.

"Oh please. Why should I be disappointed? I am finally free from you and I can now walk without stumbling all the time," she teased.

"Well, I can also finally move my right hand. So the feeling is mutual, " James said, matching her teasing tune.

Lily smiled and looked around. "So•••We should probably go to sleep, huh?" 

James nodded, "See you tomorrow." 

She took a step back but paused. "Wait- What are we going to tell others about why the spell wore off?"

"We will just tell them that it wore off on it's own," James replied.

"Okay. What will we tell them•••about us?"

James opened his mouth but closed it again. Lily stared at him, waiting for an answer.

"I don't know, if we tell them about us, they may connect it to the binding spell and get suspicious, especially Remus. 

"Maybe we should tell them after getting them together," Lily suggested.

James nodded. "Yeah, that sounds good. So till then we pretend that we are just friends."

"Yeah." She rubbed her eyes. "It's almost midnight, so•••" 

"We should sleep." James finished for her. 

"Good night." She smiled at him.

"Good night." He smiled back.

They both went to their dorms. As James entered the dorm, everyone else was asleep. Peter was snoring softly. Remus and Sirius were both asleep in Sirius' bed. James smiled to himself. Since fourth year, they would usually sleep together before the full moon. 

James took out his shoes and laid down on his bed. He didn't even change into his pajamas. He stared up at the canopy of his bed, grinning foolishly. He sighed dreamily. Lily Evans loved him back!! He had kissed her!! Just the thought made his heart speed up. He looked around at the other three marauders sleeping. He should sleep too. He needed to sleep. Tomorrow was the full moon and he needed some rest to stay up all night. But the memories of the day kept replaying in his mind and he couldn't stop himself from smiling like an idiot. He finally fell asleep after a long time, dreaming of a certain red-haired girl with green eyes.

\----

"I bet you it wore off by a kiss." 

"Don't be stupid, Pads."

James rubbed his eyes sleepily and sat up on his bed. "Good morning," he said cheerfully, pretending he didn't hear anything.

"Good morning. You seem in a happy mood." Sirius raised his eyebrows. 

"Sirius, keep your voice down. I wanna sleep," Remus said in an annoyed voice. 

"Shit. I am Sorry." Sirius got down from his bed and walked to James'. "So, how did the spell wear off?" 

"It wore off on it's own," James shrugged.

Sirius was about to reply when the bathroom door opened and Peter came out. 

"Alright," Sirius said and went into the bathroom. 

Peter looked at James' arm, then back to him. "It wore off," he said, and James couldn't understand if it was a question or statement.

James simply nodded.

Peter's eyes widened with surprise. "Are you kidding me?!" 

"Sshh!!! Keep your voice low!" James said urgently.

"Wha' happened?" Remus asked, sleepily.

"Nothing!" James said and walked towards him,"We•••um••••Peter and me are going down to the Great Hall. We can bring your breakfast here, if you want?" 

"No, it's fine." Remus closed his eyes. "I'll come down soon," he mumbled.

"Okay." James nodded. "Sirius is in the bathroom. You can come with him, then."

Remus hummed in agreement, and pulled the covers up.

James ushered Peter out of the room. 

"You two are together?!" Peter asked excitedly as James closed the door behind them.

James nodded. "But you can't tell them yet."

"Why?" Peter asked.

"Because they will get suspicious," James replied.

Peter nodded and they started walking down the stairs. James didn't like hiding this from Sirius and Remus. He always shared everything with them and this was one of the best things in his life. It sucked that he wasn't able to share this.

As they reached the common room, James looked around for Lily. She wasn't there, so he assumed that she would be in the Great Hall. They left the common room. 

As they were walking down a corridor, Peter turned to James. "So how does it feel?" 

"Huh?" James asked in confusion.

"You know, that the girl you were smitten with, likes you back," Peter stated, as they reached a corner.

James smiled at the thought. "Awesome. It's still kinda unbelievable, but it's the best feeling ever."

"What's the best feeling ever?" 

James turned back and saw Lily standing behind them, smiling mischievously.

"I'll see you in the Great Hall," Peter smiled and left.

"Eavesdropping, were you, Lily Evans?" James asked with a smirk.

"I was just walking, it's not my fault that you were talking about me. Smitten, are you, James Potter?"

"I don't know, am I?" James leaned closer. 

Lily bit her bottom lip, and James' gaze flickered down to her lips. 

"Can't you walk faster? I am starving!" Some Ravenclaws walked through the corridor. 

James quickly stepped back and cursed inwardly. Him and Lily started walking casually. 

As the Ravenclaws were far ahead of them, James took Lily's hand and interlaced their fingers together. Lily's freckled cheeks turned slightly pink. 

After sometime they came across other students, so James let go of her hand.

"Lily?"

"Yeah?"

James searched for words. He somehow had to make sure that they wouldn't make any plans today as tonight was the full moon.

He ran his hand through his hair. "About the plan, you know. Maybe we should••"

"Not make plans for today because of full moon?" Lily suggested.

He stared at her.

"Yeah. I know about Remus' condition."

"•••um•••Since when?" he asked.

"Since third year," she replied.

James nodded. "Oh•••That's good•••You are really great, you know." 

Lily smiled. "Thanks for letting me know."

They walked to the Great Hall. James sat next to Peter and Lily sat with her friends. After sometime, Remus and Sirius also came into the Hall and sat opposite to them. They all started eating in silence, as they knew that Remus hated noise around the time of the full moon. In spite of Sirius' attempts, he didn't eat much food. He just absent-mindedly played with his food. 

Sirius pushed his plate of chocolate pudding towards Remus. "At least eat some chocolate."

Remus shook his head. "Sirius, I don't-"

"You are not eating anything else. But you can't say no to chocolate. Eat your breakfast."

Remus couldn't help but smile. "Okay."

After sometime, they finished breakfast and went to their classes.

\----

"Remus?"

Remus opened his eyes and looked up at Sirius. He sat up, looking around the students leaving the class. "The class ended?" He rubbed his eyes.

"Yeah. You should go up to the dorm. You are very tired," Sirius said as they starting walking out of the class.

"What class do we have next?" Remus asked, struggling to keep his eyes open.

"Potions," Sirius replied.

Remus made a face, thinking of the smell of all the potions. "I should just go to the dorm." He sighed and closed his eyes.

Sirius stood in front of him. "Do you plan on falling asleep, standing here?" he teased, tilting his head.

Remus would have replied with something but his brain seemed to shut down. He leaned to place his head on Sirius' shoulder, but he miscalculated and his lips brushed against Sirius'. The sensation of Sirius' lips jerked him awake. He quickly stepped back. 

"I am sorry•••I•••"

"It's no big deal," Sirius said. "I should go to class. I'll come to the dorm after class. Take some rest." 

Remus nodded and Sirius walked away. 

As Sirius turned around the corridor, he let out the breath he had been holding all this time. He slumped against the wall. It was a miracle that he had managed to keep his voice casual while talking to Remus, even if he was sure that his heart was about to explode. He brought his fingers up to his lips. He was sure that if Remus hadn't pulled away, he would have snogged him right there. Remus' lips had been so soft! Worst thing was that, for Remus, it was just an accident. He had no idea what he had done to Sirius. 

Sirius took a deep breath and pushed himself away from the wall. He couldn't be late for class! He would get detention and he couldn't afford detention for tonight! He hurried off to the class.

\----

Remus turned on his side for the tenth time. He just wanted to get some sleep, but his brain seemed determined to keep him awake and keep him thinking about Sirius. 

The door banged opened and Sirius entered, looking furious.

Remus sat up. "Sirius? What's wrong?" 

Sirius looked at him. "Shit. I••• I didn't mean to wake you up. I am sorry••• Fuck•• I am such an idiot•••"

Remus noticed that Sirius was hurt; his knuckles were bruised and he had a cut on his upper arm. 

Remus got up and walked towards him. "Sirius? How did you get hurt? What happened?" he asked in a worried voice.

Sirius looked down. "I am sorry," he said, lower lip trembling slightly.

"Sirius, at least tell me what happened, you're scaring the life out of me."

"I was coming back here and there were some Slytherins•••I was just gonna keep walking, but they aimed a hex at me and I•••I hexed them back•••and that Ravenclaw prefect came there and gave us detention." He looked up at Remus. "I have detention for tonight, which means that I can't••I can't come with you." 

"Sirius, it's•••" 

"No." Sirius shook his head. "Don't you say 'it's okay' Remus. It's not. I•••Padfoot always kept Moony distracted. We don't even know what Moony will do with only Prongs and Wormtail. I am such a fucking idiot." 

"Sirius," Remus said firmly, cupping Sirius' face with his hands, "I•••I know it's not okay and I don't know what will happen tonight. But, it's been worse. Before you all became animagi for me, I went through this alone every month and also for the summer holidays. You guys did so much for me, no one else would have done that. I think I can go through one full moon with only Prongs and Wormtail." 

Sirius sighed. "You're right, but you shouldn't have to. I am so sorry, Remus."

"It will be fine," Remus said softly.

He gently held Sirius' wrist and made him sit down on the bed. Sirius watched him in silence as he took out his wand and performed healing spells on Sirius' wounds. 

"The cut is because of them, right?" Remus asked.

Sirius simply nodded.

"What about the broken knuckles, then?"

"It's-" Sirius sighed "-I was really angry and•••I needed to take out the anger." Sirius looked down.

"Sirius, we've talked about this. You need to stop and think before doing anything."

"Sorry, I will be careful next time." 

"There might not always be a next time," Remus said gently.

The door opened and James and Peter entered. They stopped abruptly as they looked at Remus and Sirius. 

"What happened?" James asked worriedly.

"Got into hexing with some Slytherins," Remus said. 

"And got into detention," Sirius said quietly. 

James and Peter stared at him. 

"You won't be able to come, tonight," Peter said more like a statement than a question. 

Sirius nodded. "Do you think you will be able to handle Moony tonight?" His voice sounded uncertain and nervous.

"I am sure they will," Remus said, giving James a do-as-I-say look.

James nodded. "Yeah, of course, we will." 

Sirius seemed to believe them and nodded. "Alright.

"I think I will go to hospital wing before the moonrise," Remus said.

"We'll meet you in the shack, then," Peter said. 

"Yeah, you should get some rest," James stated. "I have to write an essay for charms, so I probably should do it now."

Remus nodded and turned to Sirius, with a soft smile. "See you tomorrow, I guess?" 

Sirius nodded, trying to manage a fake smile, but failing. "I am sorry, Moony."

"I told you it's fine," Remus said, giving him a fond look and left the dorm.

Peter turned to James, "I also haven't finished the Charms essay, so we should work on it." 

"Yeah, you're right." James yawned.

"You guys should probably get some sleep first," Sirius said. "I have written almost half of the essay, I will finish mine and then i can write yours' too, I am good at copying handwritings,"

James and Peter stared at him. 

"You are saying that you will write three essays?" Peter asked.

"It's the least that I can do." Sirius looked down. 

"Sirius, we can do it ourselves. It's no big deal," James said. 

Sirius shook his head. "You need to handle Moony on your own, you should take some rest," he said with an air of finality.

"Alright," James muttered and him and Peter went to their beds. 

Sirius took out his books and started writing the essay. 

\----

Remus paced around the shack, James and Peter sitting on the bed.

"James?" Remus stopped his pacing and looked at James.

"Yeah?" 

"I don't think you guys should let me out tonight." 

"But•••" 

Remus shook his head. "It's not safe. I mean•••It never is, but I don't think that Prongs would be able to handle Moony on it's own. You know that too."

James wanted to argue but he himself was uncertain about tonight. Prongs and Padfoot handled Moony easily, but he didn't know if he could alone.

"If I•••If something goes wrong and•••I hurt someone, it would cause a lot of trouble for us all," Remus continued. 

"What do you think, James?" Peter asked nervously.

"••I•••I think Remus is right••••but•••You will hurt yourself badly, Remus••"

Remus shrugged. "It will be fine. Just promise me, you won't let me out."

James sighed. "Alright, I promise."

\----

As Sirius walked back in the dorm room after finishing detention, it was almost 1 a.m. The room was empty and he felt so alone and so useless. He took off his robe and sat near the window, looking out at the full moon that was shining brightly in the night sky. He was the worst friend someone could ever have. He just kept hurting Remus, first in fifth year and now again. Why did he always have to be so impulsive? Why didn't he just stop and think before doing anything? 

He felt tears gather in his eyes as he stared at the moon, hoping that at least Remus wouldn't be hurt badly. After sometime, he shivered slightly. He looked around and saw Remus' jumper lying on his bed. He took off his shirt and put on Remus' jumper. It had Remus' scent; chocolate, parchment and tea. He took a deep breath taking in Remus' scent which, as always, made him feel calmer. 

He knew he wouldn't be able to sleep. He had written his and James' essay before going to detention and he still had to write Peter's. So he took out his essay and a parchment and started writing Peter's essay. 

\----

He finished the essay and rubbed the back of his neck, feeling a cramp in his neck. His eyes were sore because of the dim light and lack of sleep.

He looked around, the sun rays were peeping through the window. Remus would be in the hospital wing. He got up and hurried towards the hospital wing. 

As he reached the hospital wing, James and Peter were in the corridor.

"How is he?" Sirius asked, slightly breathless from running.

"Not that good," James said. 

"What do you mean? Did something happen?" 

"No!" James said quickly.

"Just•••it was a bad night," Peter stated.

"Before the moonrise," James began, "Remus made us promise not to let him out. It wasn't safe. So, we stayed in the shack. I tried to keep him distracted, but Moony kept trying to go out. He's hurt pretty bad."

"He's probably awake, if you want to meet him," Peter said. 

Sirius nodded. "You two should get some sleep before breakfast."

They nodded and walked away. 

Sirius went inside the hospital wing. Remus was sitting on a bed, arms and waist covered in bandages. Sirius sat on a stool. 

"Hey." Remus smiled weakly.

Sirius also managed a smile. "How are you feeling?"

"Alright, I guess. Not that bad."

Sirius nodded, looking down at his hand.

"Sirius, were you awake the whole night?" Remus asked, looking at Sirius' puffy eyes. 

"•••I•••I couldn't sleep," Sirius said shortly.

"Sirius?"

"Yeah?" Sirius looked up at Remus, who was smiling at him.

"You're wearing my jumper."

Sirius looked down at the jumper. 'Shit. He had forgot to take it off.'

"••I just••••I was•••feeling cold•••and it was lying on the bed, so••"

Remus nodded and was about to say something when Pomfrey came to his bed and handed him a glass of potion. "Here, drink this. It will help you to sleep. Mr Black, you should leave him alone for sometime, he needs to rest," she said sternly.

"Okay." Sirius got up. "When can he leave?"

"It seems like it was a bad night, he hasn't been hurt this badly from a long time. I think he won't be able to leave till dinner," she said sadly.

Guilt washed over him. It was all his fault. "Okay." He turned to Remus and gave him a fake smile. "See you, Moony."

"See you," Remus smiled back.

He turned back and walked out of the hospital wing. 

\----

Lily stood near the end of the stairs, debating whether she should go up or not. The breakfast was about to start and James, Peter and Sirius still hadn't come down. She went up the stairs and knocked at their door. The door opened and revealed a confused James.

"Lily? What are you doing here?" 

"You guys hadn't come down," she replied. 

"Oh! Come inside." He took a step back and she entered inside. She looked around, their dorm was messy. The walls were covered with many posters. 

"We were just about to come down. I was waiting for Peter to come out of the bathroom," James explained.

"What about Sirius?" 

"He is in the hospital wing with Remus, he would be coming here soon, I think."

Lily noticed that James looked extremely tired and there were dark circles around his eyes. She cupped his cheek with her hand. "You look really tired," she stated.

"It's just••••None of us can sleep easily during the night of the full moon." 

Lily softly stroked his cheek with her thumb. She leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on his lips. He slipped his hand around her waist to pull her closer and kissed her back.

"Hey!! Just because I know about you two doesn't mean you can snog in front of me!!" Peter exclaimed.

They both pulled back and turned to Peter, who had just walked out of the bathroom.

"Hey, Pete. Didn't see you there," James said.

"Of course you didn't," Peter teased. "Since you were so busy-" He didn't get to finish as James was aiming several hexes at him. 

Lily chuckled as Peter kept ducking from the hexes. 

"Guys stop! We need to go down to breakfast!" Lily said, trying to stop herself from smiling.

They both stopped. "Yeah, alright," James said and they left the dorm. 

\----

"How is Remus?" Lily asked as they were sitting in the Great Hall.

"Not that good," James replied, "It was a•••I mean Madame Pomfrey said it was a bad night." 

Sirius came and sat opposite to them. "Good morning, people," he smiled. But, James could still see the sadness in his eyes. Living with him from six years had taught him that.

Sirius was wearing his school robes, unlike when they had seen him outside the hospital wing, wearing Remus' jumper. 

"You have finally changed into your own clothes, I see," James said with a lopsided grin.

"What?" Lily asked in confusion.

"Nothing!" Sirius said, glaring at James. 

"You are so gone," James muttered.

Sirius kicked him under the table and James winced in pain.

\----

James always hated History of magic. It bored him on regular days. But today, he felt like he might as well pass out right here. To his right, Sirius was also struggling to keep his eyes open. Peter sat in front of them and he was often nodding off. 

"Padfoot? Wormtail?" James whispered.

They both looked at him, with questioning eyes.

"You two sleep through this class. I'll take the notes."

They both seemed reluctant so James added, "This way, only one of us will have to remain awake in one class."

They nodded and put their heads on the desk. James looked back at the Professor, trying to concentrate on what he was saying. 

A paper bird flew and landed on his desk. He opened it and it was a note in Lily's handwriting, which read: 

"You look like you're about to faint! Get some sleep. You can copy my notes later."

He turned to Lily, who was looking at him with worried expressions. He turned back to his desk and wrote his reply:

"Thanks a lot. Love you."

He sent the note back to Lily's desk and smiled as he noticed the faint blush across her cheeks. He put his head on the desk and drifted off to sleep.

\----

"What if he gets suspicious?" Peter asked, closing the classroom door.

"He won't," James replied. "He is in the hospital wing with Remus. He won't even know we are missing."

"Can we go back to what we were doing?" Lily asked, annoyed.

James turned back to her. "Yeah, you have any bright ideas?" he asked hopefully.

She shook her head.

"I just want to sleep," Peter complained.

"Me too, Peter," James said. "But we have to come up with a plan for tomorrow."

"Right, we only have this free time because Sirius is with Remus. We won't be able to be alone for long tomorrow," Lily stated.

"My brain isn't working properly for any ideas," Peter said.

"Just lock them up in a bloody closet till they don't kiss," James said, frustrated.

"Why didn't we think of that?!" Lily exclaimed.

James frowned. "I don't think it'll work. You know them, they will prefer to stay locked forever than doing something about their feelings."

Lily shook her head. "I am not saying that we lock them in a closet." She thought for sometime. "I got it!" 

"Well, do share your idea with us," Peter said.

"Alright," Lily began, "My mom had a cream that was good for relieving pain. I had asked her to send one to me because it would be helpful to Remus. And the plan had made me forget about that. Anyway, tonight when Remus comes back, I'll give it to him. Then, we'll make Sirius go upstairs to help him. As he goes inside the bathroom, we close the door." She paused and turned to James, "During the day, you will joke to Sirius about locking them up till he doesn't express his feelings."

James nodded.

"So when they are locked," Lily continued, "Sirius knows that he has to express his feelings. He wouldn't want to, but Remus is tired and Sirius doesn't want to hurt him. So, he will express his feelings, and finally they will get together!" 

James and Peter stared at her in amazement.

"That is brilliant!" James said in wonder. "I can't believe we didn't think of that earlier."

"We came up with such stupid ideas," Peter said.

"Excuse me, not all of them were stupid," James opposed. "The binding spell was a pretty great idea."

Peter nodded, "I am sure it's one of your favourite ideas," he said with a knowing look. 

James glared at him.

"Guys? The plan?" Lily brought their attention back to her. "James, it's almost six p.m. You should stay in the dorm and when Sirius comes there. You know what to do."

James nodded and got up, placing a brief kiss on Lily's lips. "You are the brightest witch I've ever met."

She smiled at him. 

Peter coughed. "Sorry to interrupt you two, but we have a plan to execute."

"Yeah, right," James said and they left the classroom.

"I'll go and check on Remus," Lily said. 

"Yeah, me too. But I'll first go down to the kitchens to bring some chocolate for him. I'll see you in the hospital wing," Peter said and left. 

"See you later," Lily smiled at James and walked away. 

James waved goodbye to her and continued walking to the dorm.

\----

James sat on his bed, reading a Quidditch magazine. The door opened and Sirius entered. 

"Hey, Prongs," Sirius greeted him.

"Hey, how is Remus now?" 

"Still not that good. But, better than before," Sirius answered.

"Okay."

Sirius went to Remus' bed and laid down. James gave him a knowing look. 

Sirius threw a pillow at him, which James managed to miss. 

"What?" James asked, faking innocence.

"Stop giving me that look." Sirius glared at him.

"What look? The I-Know-You-Are-Head over heels in love with Remus-look?"

Sirius chucked another pillow that hit James right in his face. 

"Idiot," James muttered as he adjusted his glasses.

Sirius put his arm over his eyes. 

"So when are you going to tell him?" James asked casually.

Sirius removed his arm and looked at James. "What?"

"That you are completely and crazily in love with him," James said, smiling widely.

Sirius sighed. "I told you. Never."

"Come on! It's driving me crazy!" James groaned. 

"It's driving you crazy, huh? Well, it's killing me!" Sirius snapped. 

James was transfixed by the pain on his face and in his voice. "•••I•••That's why I want you to give it a try, Sirius," he said gently.

Sirius shook his head. "No. It's better this way."

James sighed. "Well, if you don't do anything about. I'll lock you up with him until you don't tell him how you feel."

Sirius stared at him, wondering if it was a joke. "Are you serious?"

James grinned. "No. You are."

Sirius groaned and covered his eyes with his arm again muttering, "Whatever."

James smiled to himself. "Alright, I am going to meet Moony. See you later."

"See you," Sirius mumbled and James left the dorm.

\-----

As Remus entered the common room, he met Lily.

"Hey Remus. Feeling any better now?" 

"Yeah. Not that bad." He gave her a brief smile. 

"I had something for you," she said and took out a box from her bag. "My mom's friend works with medicines. This cream is good for relieving muscle pain. So, I thought you would need it. Apply it before going to sleep."

"Thanks a lot, Lily."

"Don't mention it. Are you coming down to dinner?"

He shook his head. "I don't think I will be able to eat anything."

She sighed. "Okay, see you tomorrow."

He smiled at her and walked away. She left the common room and started walking towards the Great Hall.

\-----

Sirius was coming back from dinner when he met Peter outside the portrait hole.

"Hey, Peter. Is Remus upstairs?"

"Yeah. He had come back when we were gone for dinner," Peter answered. "One more thing! Lily had given him a cream for muscle pain, he might need your help for that. I need to keep these books back in the library."

Sirius nodded and walked inside. 

As he entered the dorm, it was empty, which meant that Remus would be in the bathroom. He knocked on the door.

"Remus, you there?"

"Yeah. It's me," Remus' voice came from the other side of the door.

"Do you need some help with the cream that Lily gave you?" 

"•••um••••Yeah, I could use some help."

The door opened and Sirius entered. Remus was wearing only his trousers. Sirius had seen him bare chested before. But today was different, Remus' chest and arms were covered with scars from last night and it was all Sirius' fault. Remus hadn't been this hurt since 'The Prank' of fifth year.

"Don't do this," Remus' voice brought him back to the present.

"What?"

"I know what you're thinking. Don't."

Sirius licked his lips. "••I am sorry•••It's just." He took a deep breath. "Nevermind. Where's the cream?"

Remus seemed like he wanted to say more but thought better of it. He handed the cream to Sirius.

"Where does it hurt?" Sirius asked.

"Mostly near the neck and shoulders," Remus said and turned around. 

Sirius applied some cream on Remus' neck and began to massage it. 

"When do you reckon James and Lily will get together?" Sirius asked.

"Few days," Remus replied.

"Really?! I was thinking about a week."

"Nah, they won't last that long."

"Right, the way they act around each other? They are so in love!" Sirius said.

Remus chuckled softly, "Absolutely smitten." 

"Absolutely," Sirius said, grinning. "You should have seen them when we were in the common room, copying Lily's notes. They couldn't stop staring at each other."

They both were oblivious to their three friends who were outside the door, eavesdropping. They were also oblivious to the fact that the door was locked. 

 

"I am feeling better now, thanks," Remus said as they were about to leave.

Sirius waved his hand dismissively and held the door knob to open the door. When it didn't open, he tried again. 

"What's the matter, Sirius?" 

"It's not opening," Sirius replied, trying to open it again, but to no avail.

Remus sighed. "Tell me you have your wand with you."

"••I•••Actually•••It's in the dorm," he said slowly. 

"Well, maybe Peter or James are in the dorm. Try calling them?"

Sirius knocked on the door, "James? Peter? Are you guys there?" 

"Shit. Peter was going to the library," Remus said miserably. "He won't be there. I don't know about James."

James. It all clicked on Sirius' mind. James had locked them up! 

"Bastard," he mumbled.

"What?" Remus asked.

"Nothing! What do we do now?" Sirius asked. He was going to kill James.

"I don't know," Remus replied and closed his eyes. "This bloody door had to lock today. I just wanted to sleep." He tilted his neck back, but winced in pain.

This wasn't right. Remus shouldn't have to be in pain because of Sirius. He had already caused him enough pain. He wasn't going to be selfish. He loved him too much to cause him anymore pain. 

Remus turned around, his back to Sirius. "Looks like we'll have to stay here for sometime," he said, picking his shirt from the shelf and putting it on. 

"Remus?" 

"Yeah?" Remus looked back.

"No. It's better if you stay like that." Sirius wasn't sure if he could face Remus. 

"•••um•••Okay. What is it?" Remus asked, looking at the wall.

"••I•••There's something that I wanted to say from a long time•••um•••I love you, Remus•••Not that friendly type of love•••But that 'Head over heels in love' type of love-" He licked his lips "-I am sorry. I should just go••"

He turned back, hoping that at least the door would have been unlocked. But, he was stopped by Remus' hand holding his wrist. He turned back to Remus. Before he could say anything, Remus leaned and kissed him. His eyes widened in surprise. Before he could respond, Remus pulled back, smiling at him.

"I love you, too. You idiot."

Sirius let out a surprised laugh and leaned forward, capturing Remus' lips in another kiss. He placed his hand on the back of Remus' neck, tangling his fingers in his hair. Kissing Remus was a bliss, it tasted of chocolate and tea. It was a feeling that Sirius never wanted to let go. Eventually, they pulled back, both breathing heavily. 

The door opened suddenly. Sirius turned back and James, Lily and Peter were standing outside the door.

"We did it!" Lily said, joyfully. 

"You are brilliant!" James said and placed a kiss on her cheek.

"Excuse me. What's happening?" Remus frowned. 

They all looked guilty. Remus and Sirius walked out of the bathroom.

"You two are together?" Sirius asked in shock.

"••••er•••Yeah," Lily said.

"Since when?!" Remus asked.

"••Two days••" James replied.

"This has something to do with that binding rope, right?" Remus enquired.

They all nodded. 

"The binding rope! It was for us! Wasn't it?" Sirius exclaimed.

"••Yeah•••It was••••" Peter admitted.

"You all were planning to get us together all this time?" Remus asked in disbelief.

They nodded, looking guilty.

"Why?" Remus questioned.

"Because you two were oblivious!" James stated. "You two would be pining over each other forever, if we hadn't done something." 

Remus shook his head, smiling fondly. "You all are unbelievable."

James turned to Sirius. "So?" 

Sirius glared at him. "I can't believe you didn't tell us about you and Lily."

"You two would get suspicious," Lily said. "Maybe you wouldn't, but Remus would."

Remus nodded. "Honestly, I was feeling that there was something off with the spell." 

James looked at Sirius and raised his eyebrows. "Are we cool, now?"

Sirius smacked his arm, hints of smile on his lips. "Idiot." 

"Stupid git," James muttered, with a smile.

Peter yawned. "It's getting late I am going to sleep."

"I should also leave, now," Lily said and turned to James, smiling. 

"Love-birds," Sirius muttered, picking his pajamas and went into the bathroom.

When he came out, he caught a glimpse of Lily leaving the dorm and James closing the door. Peter and Remus were laying on their beds. 

"Oi! Love-stuck idiot! You gonna sleep or not?" Sirius teased.

James glared at him. "You're the one to talk, Mr "I-am-smitten-with-Remus' Black."

Remus and Peter chuckled. Sirius rolled his eyes at James and went to Remus' bed. 

"Hey! Remember we all share the same dorm!" Peter warned.

Ignoring him, Sirius laid down next to Remus, closing the curtains with a flick of his wand, and performing a silencing spell around them. He turned so that he was facing Remus.

Remus softly stroked his cheek with his thumb. "I am so glad they came up with this plan," he murmured.

"Yeah, me too." Sirius smiled. "Remind me to thank them tomorrow."

"Well, James and Peter are here. So, you can thank them right now."

"Nah, I am busy right now," he said, before leaning forward and kissing Remus.

\----

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are really appreciated <3


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